WTF

[gwyn]

So I have to take a work break to write this out because I'm still sort of WTFing about this today. A while ago I was writing about how I'd had a few requests to translate a fanwork but how I figured at this point, after more than a year in some cases, I was never going to see them (and of course, right after I wrote that someone posted a translation into Russian of one of them). Even though I give blanket permission to translate, I've noticed people still will ask, usually in comments on AO3 but sometimes on Tumblr.

I got a message from the person who'd asked about translating the Groundhog Day story I can't remember how this started (but I can tell you exactly how it ends); she'd left a really sweet comment and said that there was nothing like it in Russian and would it be okay if she translated? I said yes and thanked her for her lovely comment. On Tumblr last night she sent me a private message, though, saying she was the person who wanted to translate it--and between autocorrect and language difficulties, I'm not totally sure I understood everything completely, but that she wasn't feeling really sure about it (I did love that she said Russian grammar is terrible, because man, I feel that, I think grammar in every language is terrible!) but she'd had a lot of trouble finding anyone who would check the translation for her.

She said that she finally found some girls who would look it over but that she had to bring it to what sounds like possibly some kind of con or gathering (a "fest") at the end of the summer; she said they would only look at it then, and that she had to delete the comment on the story at AO3. Which I just…what kind of weird Russian mean-girl shit is that? Like, you can't have a trail of asking for permission to translate, or you can't have a trail that you liked the story and left a comment? I can't figure it out for the life of me, it struck me as SO WEIRD. Cultural differences, yadda yadda, but I felt so bad for her that they were putting her in this position just because she was excited by a fanwork and wanted to have a translation out in the world, and also, deleting a comment affects the author, too. I mean, it's the most-commented on story I have so it's not a huge deal, but that's not saying a lot, as I don't tend to get a lot of them--so their demands affect both people, the translator and the writer, in a really odd way.

I responded that of course I remembered her, and I was glad she'd found someone to check the translation and that of course I was sorry to see her lovely comment deleted, but that it was her comment and so she should do whatever she wanted with it, and that I hoped the fest would be fun. But I couldn't stop puzzling over that: why they would only look at it there and why they would demand that she remove the comment on the fic. It's just so peculiar.

ETA: So it turns out that this is actually a legit fest thing with some seriously hard core rules, which you can read some explanations of in the comments! I assumed that it was something negative because her message sounded so sad and frustrated and anxious, but I'm hoping that it'll turn out to be a great experience for her.

Comments

[ratcreature]

What? Peculiar indeed. I agree that this doesn't make a lot of sense.

[gwyn]

So, a bunch of people have explained this to me in comments, if you're interested--it's apparently some kind of fandom battle thing. I just forget all the time how hard core the Russians are, man.

[ratcreature]

Ah okay, that makes more sense. Though now I wonder why the explanation you got by the prospective translator was so incoherent, because explaining something like "There's a translation fest I want to participate in with this, that requires translators to be anon until it's over, and having my comment on the story might break that when people look at the original." is not that complicated? Maybe they assumed you to be familiar with that format so that you'd automatically fill in the blanks. But anything that has judges or rankings or winners or such has really fallen out of favor in English language fandom over the last years as format, like I mean awards and such. I suppose if you do it anon, that will cut down the popularity wank associated with this stuff.

Though Fandom Games with teams and such used to happen in English language fandom too, like a few years back I had several Harry Potter games on my flist with teams competing for points, like there were Snape/Harry (the first I think -- used to be called Snarry Olympics but was actually threatened with a lawsuit by the actual Olympics for using the name), Harry/Draco and Remus/Sirius games. Merlin fandom had games with competing teams too.

[hypertwink]

I don't want to be so jaded but this looks like someone trying to erase a paper trail. Be careful.

[gwyn]

I guess it was! But not quite in the way we expected--I thought it might be related to anything gay being a crime, but it is apparently some kind of literal fest. A bunch of people have explained it in comments if you want to read about it.

[saraht]

I had a somewhat similar request scenario recently--the translation was supposed to be for some fest, I gather it may have been something of a competition, and so the translation was supposed to be anonymous:

"I'd like to share this story with the Russian fandom and translate this fanfic for the Fandom Combat, an annual multifandom fest held on a Russian website. Of course, I'll give a link to your original story. I will also give you a link to the translation posted on my personal page, but only in October, because the competition is strictly anonymous, and before it is over I must not post the translation at any webpage other than the anonymous competition-specific page accessible only to those who have an account (the anonymity rule does not apply to the original authors of translated works, and your name will be indicated together with a link to the original). When the competition is over, I'll post the translation on my personal page and send you a link accessible to everyone without any restrictions. I'd also ask you not to share my username online with respect to the translation. If the name of the translator becomes known to the public before the end of the competition, the entire team will be disqualified."

I don't know, even if the person wanted to Nefariously Plagiarize The Story!!!, really, it's not something that having the comment or not having the comment would determine the success of. Honestly, if some Russian wanted to plagiarize my work, there's very little I could do about it anyway.

[gwyn]

This was incredibly helpful, thank you so much for commenting. We were wondering if it had something to do with homosexuality being a crime in Russia, but having this explanation made so much more sense. They are seriously hard core over there. :-D

[mackiemesser]

I see your WTF? and raise you a "Bwuh?"

[gwyn]

Apparently it's a legit thing, and has happened to other people (sort of similar). I'm still sort of boggled about it, but I have to remember to never underestimate the metalness of Russians, I guess. :-D

[mackiemesser]

You don't mindfuck Russia, Russia mindfucks you?

[sineala]

Seconding the above comment -- I've had a couple of my stories translated into Russian as part of what is probably the same fest. One was a couple years ago, and one going up this year. The translator has contacted me privately, so as not to leave a comment trail, and the stories are all posted in the summer by the anon fest account and then claimed at the end of the fest by the original translator.

(This was the story; the WTF account is the fest account.)

As far as I know, it's on another site because that's where they run the fest and eventually a bunch of the works end up on AO3. It's one of those things they do in Russian-language fandom.

(Here is a post of mine where the only person I know in Russian-language fandom (hamsterwoman) has attempted to explain it to me, when I happened across a story that was part of the fest.)

[gwyn]

I'm really grateful to have these explanations, because the original commenter didn't really provide anything in the way of explanation, just that there was a fest (which I assumed might be a con or something, the way she'd phrased it) and they would be looking at her translation during it. Russians are seriously metal. ;-)

[sperrywink]

Very strange indeed. Huh.

[gwyn]

I thought so! But apparently there is an actual sensible (well, an explanation at least, maybe not sensible to me) background to this, if you're curious--some of the comments explain it.

[bond_girl]

I've heard of Fandom Kombat before, it's been around for at least five or more years. All I know that this is a legit team fest with complex rules and many inside jokes :) So maybe hang in there and things will work out with your translator?

[gwyn]

Yeah, this looks to be the explanation! I didn't get much of an explanation in her original email, so I was trying to fill in the blanks and it sounded so mean girl--like, that was the only place my mind could go to guess what she was talking about. So now with the background of this Kombat thing, the pieces fall into place a bit better. I just have never come across this before, let alone related to one of my own fanworks. I hope it's a good experience for her; part of what made me assume something negative was that her message to me sounded very sad and uncertain. I hope it'll give her some fun connections and good inside jokes!

[phantomas]

I was going to comment with 'weird' but then I read the other comments and it does sound like your story is being translated for that specific event, with all the anonymity rules, etc.

[gwyn]

I know, right? I think if her tone hadn't seemed so sad and worried, and she'd named the fest, I probably wouldn't have automatically assumed something negative. Here's hoping she has a really good experience, though, and has fun!